The City of San Antonio and Bexar County conducted a traffic study after several residents complained about the congestion in the area.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio’s population is rising as fast as builders can get houses built and on the market. But more houses, means more traffic and one San Antonio neighborhood says enough is enough and want something done about it.
“This intersection is very dangerous. We’ve had a lot of accidents here but we also have trouble with this many people coming through our neighborhood,” said Shaunette Schott, who has lived in The Highlands subdivision since 2018. She says when she moved in there wasn’t nearly as much traffic.
“Traffic out here felt a little more rural. It wasn’t as busy and congested as it is now,” she said.
But now that there are several subdivisions behind The Highlands and construction on Culebra Road, drivers are cutting through the neighborhood, making the turn onto Galm Road a dangerous one.
Several residents reached out to the City and County, resulting in a traffic study to see what could be done.
Marc Jacobson, the transportation systems management and operations program manager for the City of San Antonio Public Works told KENS 5, “We collected data that looked at how many vehicles were on Galm road and how many vehicles were exiting on High Branch as well as the crash history there.”
For City roads here’s how the process works: A citizen identifies the concern and makes the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Request. Public Works then evaluates that request. The results are then provided to City Council along with a recommendation. The City finds the funding and prepares plans for action, eventually notifying the public if needed, before beginning installation and construction.
Right now, the City is on the funding step for what will likely be a new traffic light.
“So we hope to have that going as quickly as possible. And then it’ll be, you know, about 18 months from once we get started,” Jacobson said.
To report resident concerns to the City, all you have to do is call 311. You can also request traffic calming measures within neighborhoods.